Written Answers Monday 6 September 2010

Scottish Executive

Business Rates

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses in each local authority area have faced an increase in their business rate because of rates revaluation from 1 April 2010.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses in each local authority area have faced a decrease in their business rate because of rates revaluation from 1 April 2010.

John Swinney: The following table shows the number and percentage of ratepayers who saw bills fall or stay the same and those who saw bills rise in each local authority area, following the 2010 revaluation.

  These figures are before the impact of relief or appeals, both of which will significantly increase the number of properties which see a bill decrease.

  

 Local Authority
 Bill Decrease/ Stay the Same
 Bill Increase
 Total Number


 Number
 % of Ratepayers
 Number
 % of Ratepayers


 Aberdeen City
 4,105
 49.8
 4,137
 50.2
 8,242


 Aberdeenshire
 5,144
 47.7
 5,637
 52.3
 10,781


 Angus
 3,072
 64.0
 1,725
 36.0
 4,797


 Argyll and Bute
 4,102
 54.2
 3,470
 45.8
 7,572


 Clackmannanshire
 955
 62.1
 583
 37.9
 1,538


 Dumfries and Galloway
 5,439
 61.4
 3,415
 38.6
 8,854


 Dundee City
 3,694
 65.4
 1,956
 34.6
 5,650


 East Ayrshire
 2,910
 77.3
 853
 22.7
 3,763


 East Dunbartonshire
 1,636
 72.7
 613
 27.3
 2,249


 East Lothian
 1,553
 48.0
 1,680
 52.0
 3,233


 East Renfrewshire
 1,206
 73.8
 428
 26.2
 1,634


 Edinburgh, City of
 9,716
 51.8
 9,033
 48.2
 18,749


 Eilean Siar
 994
 46.7
 1,135
 53.3
 2,129


 Falkirk
 3,215
 68.2
 1,496
 31.8
 4,711


 Fife
 7,793
 61.5
 4,888
 38.5
 12,681


 Glasgow City
 14,694
 59.1
 10,150
 40.9
 24,844


 Highland
 7,748
 46.6
 8,867
 53.4
 16,615


 Inverclyde
 1,706
 74.9
 573
 25.1
 2,279


 Midlothian
 1,402
 51.6
 1,313
 48.4
 2,715


 Moray
 1,821
 41.3
 2,588
 58.7
 4,409


 North Ayrshire
 3,245
 67.2
 1,584
 32.8
 4,829


 North Lanarkshire
 6,538
 73.0
 2,421
 27.0
 8,959


 Orkney Islands
 721
 36.7
 1,246
 63.3
 1,967


 Perth and Kinross
 5,518
 68.5
 2,538
 31.5
 8,056


 Renfrewshire
 4,553
 75.8
 1,453
 24.2
 6,006


 Scottish Borders
 3,207
 46.4
 3,702
 53.6
 6,909


 Shetland Islands
 1,063
 56.1
 831
 43.9
 1,894


 South Ayrshire
 3,325
 73.2
 1,215
 26.8
 4,540


 South Lanarkshire
 6,623
 70.8
 2,729
 29.2
 9,352


 Stirling
 3,198
 66.2
 1,633
 33.8
 4,831


 West Dunbartonshire
 2,079
 77.3
 612
 22.7
 2,691


 West Lothian
 3,352
 62.5
 2,011
 37.5
 5,363


 Scotland
 126,327
 59.4
 86,515
 40.6
 212,842

Dentistry

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to abolish the NHS Dental Bursary Scheme.

Shona Robison: There are no current plans to abolish the NHS Dental Bursary.

Electricity

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a decision on the Muthill Conservation Area Rationalisation Scheme relating to the Beauly to Denny power line.

Jim Mather: Views from consultees on the various Beauly to Denny rationalisation schemes have been sought and received. A decision on the Muthill Conservation Area Rationalisation Scheme will follow shortly.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new hydro energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been determined under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: Since 7 December 2007, applications were received and determined by Scottish ministers under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for the following hydro energy developments:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega Watt Capacity


Rannoch Hydro
31 July 2008
1.5 MW


Allt Fionn 2009
21 July 2009
2.1 MW


Ben Glas
21 July 2009
1.6 MW


Derry Darroch
21 July 2009
2.0 MW


Upper Falloch
21 July 2009
1.0 MW


 Cia Aig
 4 September 2009
 3.0 MW

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new hydro energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been referred to a public local inquiry, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for hydro energy developments received since 7 December 2007 have been referred to a public local inquiry.

  Applications for hydro developments of under 1 MW are dealt with by local planning authorities and the information is not held centrally.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new hydro energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: Applications for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 received for hydro energy developments since 7 December 2007, that have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined by Scottish ministers are:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega Watt Capacity


 Allt Fionn Hydro 2008
 4 August 2008
 2.4 MW


 Sloy Pumping Station
 4 September 2008
 0*


Ederline
22 April 2009
1.7 MW


Maldie Burn
11 June 2009
4.5 MW


Kildermorie
15 December 2009
7.5 MW


Loch Eilde Mor
19 December 2009
7.0 MW



  Note: *The application for Sloy Pumping station is to extend and convert the existing power generating station to a pumping station. The current capacity of 152.5 MW would not change.

  Applications for hydro developments under 1 MW are dealt with by local planning authorities and the information is not held centrally.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for extensions to existing hydro energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been determined under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications received since 7 December 2007 for consent to extend existing hydro energy developments have been determined under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for extensions to existing hydro energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been referred to a public local inquiry, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications received since 7 December 2007 for consent to extend existing hydro energy developments, under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, have been referred to a public local inquiry.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for extensions to existing hydro energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: One application which has not been referred to public local inquiry and is yet to be determined has been received since 7 December 2007 for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity act. This application is for:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega Watt Capacity


 Sloy Pumping Station
 4 September 2009
 152.5 MW



  The application for Sloy pumping station is to extend and convert the existing power generating station to a pumping station. The current capacity of 152.5 MW would not change.

Electricity

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new wind energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been determined under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications for new wind energy developments received since 7 December 2007 have been determined under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Employment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent job density value is for (a) Dundee, (b) Angus and (c) Scotland.

John Swinney: Job density value is defined as the number of employee jobs in an area divided by the working age population (males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59) residing in the area. The official source for employee jobs in Scotland is the annual business inquiry. Table 1 shows the most recent job density value for Scotland, Dundee City and Angus.

  Table 1: Job Density Value for Scotland, Dundee City and Angus, 2008

  

 
 Rate (%)


 Angus
 53.6


 Dundee City
 82.6


 Scotland
 74.8



  Source: Annual business inquiry, 2008 and mid-year population estimates, 2008.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Sites of Special Scientific Interest have been (a) notified and (b) denotified for biological features and what the cumulative total area of notified land has been in each year since 2000.

Richard Lochhead: There are 1,135 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Scotland where the list of notified features include biological features. To date four SSSIs have been completely denotified.

  

 Year
 Total Number of New SSSI
 Cumulative Total Area (Ha) of SSSIs
 Total Number of Denotified SSSIsIncluding Partial Denotification
 Total Area of Denotified SSSI


 2000
 15
 911,014
 0
 0


 2001
 10
 970,629
 0
 0


 2002
 2
 970,716
 0
 0


 2003
 1
 970,799
 0
 0


 2004
 0
 970,799
 0
 0


 2005
 1
 979,742
 0
 0


 2006
 3
 996,946
 0
 0


 2007
 2
 1,002,092
 0
 0


 2008
 1
 1,002,717
 1
 2


 2009
 0
 1,002,270
 2
 447


 2010
 0
 1,002,063
 3
 207


 Totals
 35
 1,002,063
 6
 656



  Notes:

  1. There are situations where more than one SSSI occupies the same piece of land.

  2. Scottish Natural Heritage are currently reviewing the suite of SSSI including the remeasurement of boundaries. The data above has taken into account these remeasurements.

Housing

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many developments throughout Lanarkshire have been funded by the New Supply Shared Equity scheme since the fund was established and whether it will list these.

Alex Neil: Since the New Supply Shared Equity scheme was established, a total of five developments have been funded in Lanarkshire. These are as follows:

  1. Antonine Grange, Cumbernauld

  2. Castlehill Road, Gowkthrapple, Wishaw

  3. Sikeside Place, Kirkshaws, Coatbridge

  4. Cedar Drive, East Kilbride

  5. Tobermory Road, Cathkin.

Housing

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34737 by Alex Neil on 16 July 2010, when it will report the findings of the interim review of the Home Report system to the Parliament.

Alex Neil: The report of the interim review of the Home Report, which has looked at its implementation and operation over the first 12 months, is due to be published by the end of September.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 8,092 units completed under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme in 2009-10 were off-the-shelf purchases from private developers.

Alex Neil: Of the 8,092 units completed under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP) in 2009-10 1,658 were off the shelf purchases from private developers.

  Time series tables showing all AHIP activity since the programme began in 2000-01 are published on the Scottish Government’s website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/NB-AHIP.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 8,092 units completed under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme in 2009-10 were refurbishments

Alex Neil: Of the 8,092 units completed under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP) in 2009-10 442 were rehabilitations.

  Time series tables showing all AHIP activity since the programme began in 2000-01 are published on the Scottish Government’s website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/NB-AHIP.

NHS Hospitals

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) drug and (b) alcohol-related accident and emergency admissions there were at (i) Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline and (ii) Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: It is not possible from centrally held information to identify patients that were admitted to hospital after first attending an accident and emergency department.

  Information on discharges from acute non-obstetric, non-psychiatric hospitals is available from the Scottish Morbidity Record, SMR01.

Poverty

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to review single outcome agreements with a view to ensuring that indicators of poverty are included in future planning.

John Swinney: The National Performance Framework sets out the Scottish Government’s approach to tackling poverty and this provides the necessary framework within which single outcome agreements are set.

Public Sector

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the absence rates of public sector employees have been in each of the last three years.

John Swinney: Each public sector body is responsible for recording their employees’ absence data within their management information systems (MIS). The Scottish Government only has access to its own MIS and not MIS for other public sector bodies, so is unable to provide an overall estimate of absence rates for all public sector employees in Scotland.

  Information from the Scottish Government’s MIS, shows that the annual average working days lost (AWDL) by Scottish Government staff has reduced to 7.7 days for the period up to end March 2010.

  As well as the official admin data, there are a number of surveys which collect information on sickness absence. However they are not all measuring the same thing as explained below.

  The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) carry out an absence management survey of employers. Respondents are asked to provide information on the average number of working days lost per employee per year based on a  228-day working year. Results from the latest survey in March 2009 are provided in Table 1 along with comparisons with the previous year.

  Table 1: Average days Lost per Employee per Year, 2008-09

  

 
 UK
 UK
 UK
 Scotland


 Public Sector
 Private Sector
 All
 All


 2007
 9.8
 7.2
 8.0
 9.2


 2008
 9.7
 6.4
 7.4
 10.1



  Source: CIPD Absence Management Survey (March 2009).

  Notes:

  1. The absence data is for the calendar year, January to December.

  2. Results for the public and private sector are only published at UK level.

  The Labour Force Survey (LFS) can provide an estimate of public sector absence rates as it collects information on whether respondents were off work due to sickness or injury in the reference week (usually the week before the respondent was interviewed). This is a survey of employees and provides an estimate of the proportion of employees who took at least one day off sick or injured in the reference week can be produced. Table 2 provides estimates from the LFS January to March datasets from 2008 to 2010 (latest available).

  Table 2: Sickness Absence Rates* by Sector, Scotland, 2008-2010, not Seasonally Adjusted

  

 
 Public Sector
 Private Sector
 All


 2008
 3.2%
 2.4%
 2.6%


 2009
 2.4%
 1.5%
 1.8%


 2010
 2.1%
 1.8%
 1.9%



  Source: Labour Force Survey, January to March.

  Note:

  1. Employees self-report what sector (public or private) they work in.

  *Proportions of employees who were absent from work for at least one day in the reference week.

  Please note, the rates from the LFS do not account for the total length of an employee’s sickness absence as the use of the reference week means the LFS can only measure sickness absence lasting for up to seven days.

Public Sector

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is bound by the Senior Salaries Review Body recommendations on pay and non-consolidated bonus pay for senior civil servants.

John Swinney: Senior Civil Servants (SCS) pay is reserved to the UK Government. The SCS Pay and Performance Management framework is provided each year by the Cabinet Office following recommendations from the Senior Salaries Review Body.

Public Sector

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to obtain and publish up-to-date financial information on non-consolidated bonus payments (a) in local government and (b) for senior police officers.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposals which will require local authorities, including police boards, to make disclosures on senior officer remuneration. The disclosures include bonus payments made to senior officers.

Renewable Energy

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to support further hydro-electric developments in Scotland.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government will continue to support sustainable hydro-electric development, large and small, in order to tackle climate change and contribute to economic growth.

  Emphasis is being placed on supporting developments which can make a significant contribution to Scotland’s renewables targets whilst minimising any adverse impacts on the water environment.

Renewable Energy

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what part increased hydro-electric development plays in its energy strategy.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is determined to optimise Scotland’s untapped hydro-electric resource, which a recent study put at approximately 1.2 GW.

  Emphasis is being placed on supporting hydropower developments which can make a significant contribution to Scotland’s renewables targets whilst minimising any adverse impacts on the water environment.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new wind energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: Applications for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 received for new wind energy developments since 7 December 2007 that have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined by Scottish ministers are:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega Watt Capacity


 Earlshaugh
 25 June 2008
 108 MW


 Harelaw
 19 May 2009
 120 MW


 Viking
 19 May 2009
 550 MW


 Wester Dodd
 7 September 2009
 79.2 MW


 Rowantree
 3 February 2010
 69 MW


 Kilgallioch
 16 March 2010
 396 MW


 Galawhistle
 22 March 2010
 55 MW



  Applications for wind energy developments under 50 MW are dealt with by local planning authorities and the information is not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for extensions to existing wind energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been determined under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: Applications that have been received since 7 December 2007 for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity act 1989, to extend existing wind energy developments and that have been determined by Scottish ministers are:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega watt capacity


 Rothes wind farm Extension
 27 December 2007
 37 MW


 Whitelee wind farm Extension
 23 April 2008
 130 MW


 Millenium wind farm Extension
 6 January 2009
 15 MW


 Kilbraur wind farm Extension
 13 March 2009
 20 MW


 Whitelee wind farm Extension phase 2
 30 May 2009
 162 MW

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for extensions to existing wind energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been referred to a public local inquiry, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications received after 7 December 2007 for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to extend existing wind energy developments have been referred to a public local inquiry.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for extensions to existing wind energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: Applications for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 received for extensions to existing wind energy developments since 7 December 2007, that have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined by Scottish ministers are:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega Watt Capacity


 Black Law wind farm Extension
 25 January 2008
 90 MW

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new wave and tidal energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been determined under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: Since 7 December 2007, applications were received and determined by Scottish Ministers under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for the following wave and tidal energy developments:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega Watt Capacity


 Siadar Wave Energy Generating Scheme
 21 July 2008
 4 MW



  From April 2010 all new Section 36 applications for offshore developments will be processed by Marine Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new wave and tidal energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been referred to a public local inquiry, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new wave and tidal energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been referred to a public local inquiry, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for new wave and tidal energy developments received since 7 December 2007 have been referred to a public local inquiry.

  Since April 2010, all new Section 36 applications for offshore developments will be processed by Marine Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new wave and tidal energy developments received since 7 December 2007 which have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications have been received since 7 December 2007, for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, for new wave and tidal energy developments that have neither been referred to a local public inquiry nor determined.

  From April 2010, all new Section 36 applications for offshore developments will be processed by Marine Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new renewable energy developments received since 7 December 2007, other than wind, hydro and marine, which have been determined under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications received since 7 December 2007 for consent to develop new renewable energy developments other than wind, hydro and marine, have been determined under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new renewable energy developments received since 7 December 2007, other than wind, hydro and marine, which have been referred to a public local inquiry, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: No applications received since 7 December 2007 for consent to develop new renewable energy developments other than wind, hydro and marine under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, have been referred to a public local inquiry.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those applications for new renewable energy developments received since 7 December 2007, other than wind, hydro and marine, which have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined, giving the name of the project, the date of the application and the mega watt capacity of the development.

Jim Mather: Applications for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for new renewable energy developments other that wind, hydro and marine, received since 7 December 2007, that have been neither referred to a public local inquiry nor determined are:

  

 Name
 Date of Application
 Mega watt capacity


 Dundee Biomass
 17 August 2010
 120MW

Renewable Energy

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in the targeted rate relief scheme announced in February 2010 to assist renewable energy generators.

John Swinney: The renewable energy generators business rate relief scheme was implemented on 1 April 2010 and welcomed by the industry. The introduction of the new scheme has been widely publicised by the Scottish Government and any business who considers it may be eligible for the relief should contact their local authority in the first instance.

  Take-up of the new relief will be available after the end of the current financial year.

Roads

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority area have entrances opening onto roads with a speed limit of 60 mph.

Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is not held centrally. A request for the information has been made to local authorities. I will write to the member after the responses have been received and will arrange for a copy of the reply to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 51608).

Roads

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the planned joint procurement of the A8 upgrade, M74 Raith Interchange and M8/M73/M74 network improvement projects has led to delays in the delivery of the three projects and, if so, for what reason.

Stewart Stevenson: We intend to examine the benefits of including the M74 Junction 5, Raith and M8/M73/M74 Network Improvement schemes in the proposed not for profit distribution procurement of the M8 Baillieston to Newhouse scheme. Ministers have announced that should a favourable decision on the M8 public local inquiry be made, a thorough review of the remaining stages of the project will be required. The date of completion of all three projects will depend on the procurement mechanism established as a result of that review.

Scottish Islamic Foundation

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have taken place between ministers and officials of the Scottish Islamic Foundation in 2010.

Alex Neil: No meetings have taken place between Scottish Government ministers and officials of the Scottish Islamic Foundation in 2010.

Transport

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much in (a) cash and (b) real terms has been spent on improving (i) the road network and (ii) public transport networks and how many journeys have been undertaken via each method in each year since 1997.

Stewart Stevenson: The amount spent on improving the road network since 1997 is shown in the following table:

  Improving the Road Network (£ Million)

  

 
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 (a) Cash
 174.00
 165.31
 164.90 
 155.82
 112.08 
 138.87 
 147.10 


 (b) Real Terms
 226.35 
 210.90
 207.65 
 191.92 
 133.74 
 161.16 
 166.09 



  Improving the Road Network (£ Million)

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 (a) Cash
 105.45
 177.30
 171.70 
 176.60 
 284.50 


 b) Real Terms
 116.94
 190.24
 179.10 
 179.26 
 284.50 



  Note: * Construction on the M74 commenced in 2008-09 (due for completion 2011-12).

  The amount spent on improving public transport networks since 1997 is shown in the following table:

  Improving Public Transport Networks (£ Million)

  

 
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 (a) Cash
 0.70
 2.52
 4.18
 7.17
 8.21
 6.39
 4.11


 (b) Real Terms
 0.91
 3.22
 5.26
 8.83
 9.79
 7.42
 4.64



  Improving Public Transport Networks (£ Million)

  

 
 2005-06
 2006-07*
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 (a) Cash
 44.16
 523.90
 645.14
 549.85
 542.40


 (b) Real Terms
 48.97
 562.14
 672.95
 558.12
 542.40



  Note: *Responsibility for Rail was devolved to the Scottish Government in 2006.

  The number of journeys undertaken by each method is shown in the following table:

  Journeys via each method of Transport (000)

  

 
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Roads
 39,169
 39,770
 39,561
 40,065
 41,535
 42,038


 Public Transport
 63,572
 65,826
 65,651
 65,352
 62,192
 66,914


 Total
 39,169
 39,770
 39,561
 40,065
 41,535
 42,038



  Journeys via each method of Transport (000)

  

 
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007


 Roads
 42,705
 42,718
 44,119
 44,666


 Public Transport
 73,854
 79,116
 80,653
 88,933


 Total
 42,705
 42,718
 44,119
 44,666

Transport Scotland

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what board meetings of Transport Scotland have taken place in 2010 and what subjects were discussed at each meeting.

Stewart Stevenson: There have been six meetings of the Transport Scotland Board to date in 2010. Approved minutes of the meetings from February to June, showing the subjects discussed can be accessed at http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/about-us/board/meetings . The minutes of the August board meeting will be published once approved by the board.

Unemployment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) annual average number and (b) percentage of people in Dundee has claimed unemployment-related benefits in each of the last three years for which information is available.

John Swinney: The claimant count is a measure of those claiming unemployment related benefits in Scotland. Table 1 gives the number and proportion of people claiming unemployment related benefits in Dundee City for those aged 16-64 in 2007-09.

  Table 1: Claimant Count Levels and Rates for those aged 16-64, Dundee City, 2007-09

  

 
 Level
 Rate (%)


 2007
 3,489
 3.8


 2008
 3,481
 3.7


 2009
 4,738
 5.0



  Source: Office for National Statistics.

Unemployment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual average number of people in Dundee claiming unemployment-related benefits has been in each of the last three years for which information is available, broken down by (a) age group and (b) duration of unemployment.

John Swinney: The claimant count is a measure of those claiming unemployment related benefits in Scotland. Table 1 gives the claimant count for Dundee City, broken down by age and table 2 gives the claimant count for Dundee City, broken down by duration of claim.

  Table 1: Claimant Count in Dundee City Council by age, Annual Average 2007-09

  

 
 18 to 24
 25 to 49
 50+


 2007
 990
 1,830
 550


 2008
 1,015
 1,875
 490


 2009
 1,410
 2,570
 670



  Note: Levels have been rounded to the nearest five.

  Source: Office for National Statistics.

  Table 2: Claimant Count in Dundee City Council by duration, Annual Average 2007-09

  

 
 Claiming for up to 6 Months
 Claiming for More than 6 Months and up to 12 Months
 Claiming for More than 12 Months


 2007
 2,290
 630
 565


 2008
 2,490
 590
 400


 2009
 3,240
 975
 525



  Note: Levels have been rounded to the nearest five.

  Source: Office for National Statistics

Unemployment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were claiming unemployment-related benefits in each Dundee City Council ward at the most recent date for which information is available, broken down by gender.

John Swinney: The claimant count is a measure of those claiming unemployment related benefits. Claimant counts are not yet available for the new wards as used in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary Elections. However, data is available for the 2003 Census Area Statistics (CAS) wards. Table 1 contains claimant counts for each ward within Dundee City.

  Table 1: Claimant Count in Each Dundee City Council Ward by Gender, July 2010

  

 
 Male
 Female
 All People


 Dundee City Council
 3,728
 1,366
 5,094


 Ardler
 106
 46
 152


 Balgay
 90
 35
 125


 Balgillo
 69
 18
 87


 Balgowan
 144
 48
 192


 Barnhill
 38
 20
 58


 Baxter Park
 142
 50
 192


 Bowbridge
 166
 46
 212


 Brackens
 128
 46
 174


 Broughty Ferry
 48
 20
 68


 Camperdown
 177
 73
 250


 Claverhouse
 123
 53
 176


 Craigiebank
 82
 24
 106


 Douglas
 191
 75
 266


 East Port
 188
 83
 271


 Fairmuir
 143
 37
 180


 Hilltown
 182
 59
 241


 Law
 193
 60
 253


 Lochee East
 132
 47
 179


 Lochee West
 156
 61
 217


 Logie
 106
 45
 151


 Longhaugh
 221
 78
 299


 Ninewells
 122
 41
 163


 Pitkerro
 213
 92
 305


 Riverside
 39
 21
 60


 Stobswell
 184
 69
 253


 Strathmartine
 82
 30
 112


 Tay Bridges
 132
 66
 198


 West Ferry
 26
 11
 37


 Whitfield
 148
 37
 185



  Note: 2003 CAS wards are used.

  Source: Office for National Statistics.

  The following answers were given holding answers:

  S3W-35652

  S3W-35653

  S3W-35654

  S3W-35655

  S3W-35656

  S3W-35657